After weeks of haggling, the legislature yesterday finally agreed to slash the government's budget by NT$41 billion (US$1.2 billion), the largest cut since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power in 2000.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said yesterday that about 20 controversial budget proposals would be voted on tomorrow afternoon, including the arms procurement budget.
Yesterday marked the last day of the second-phase of cross-party negotiations over the government budget, during which party negotiators bartered over items on which they had failed to reach agreement during the first phase.
The Executive Yuan estimated annual revenues at NT$1.4 trillion (US$42 billion), while annual expenditures will be NT$1.5 trillion. The projected annual income is 5.3 percent more than this year, while the proposed expenditures represent a 0.5 percent decrease year on year.
The long-stalled arms procurement bill stands no chance of passing during this legislative session as the Procedure Committee yesterday rejected it for the 45th time.
Yesterday marked the committee's last meeting for this legislative session. The legislature will break for its winter recess on Friday.
The pan-blue dominated committee yesterday voted 19 to 13 in favor of a proposal filed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) to shelve the arms procurement bill, confirmation of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) Control Yuan nominees, amendments to the Referendum Law (公民投票法) and three other bills proposed by the Executive Yuan.
The committee also voted down the party asset bill proposed by the administration and a different version proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus. The bill is designed to compel the KMT to return its improperly acquired party assets to the state.
To honor a consensus reached at a cross-party meeting on Monday, the committee yesterday agreed to place revisions to the organic bill of the Bureau of Labor Insurance on top of today's legislative agenda.
It is followed by amendments to the Organic Standard Law of the Central Government Agencies (中央行政機關組織基準法), revisions to the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan (行政院組織法) and a draft temporary statute regarding the adjustment of the Executive Yuan's functions, in that order.
The committee also agreed to let lawmakers confirm the 13 National Communication Commission nominees tomorrow morning and vote on controversial items in the budget in the afternoon.
On Friday, the last day of the legislative session, five bills will be put to a vote if no consensus is reached during cross-party negotiations to be held on Friday morning.
Also placed on the agenda are the draft amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Control Act (
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all